Ruth 4
1 And Booz went up to the gate, and
sat there; and behold, the relative passed by, of whom Booz spoke: and Booz
said to him, Turn aside, sit down here, such a one: and he turned aside and
sat down. 2 And Booz took ten men of
the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye here; and they sat down.
3 And Booz said to the relative,
The matter regards the portion of the field which was
our brother Elimelech's which was given to Noemin, now returning out of the
land of Moab; 4 and I said, I will
inform thee, saying, Buy it before those that sit, and before the elders of my
people: if thou wilt redeem it, redeem it, but if thou wilt not redeem it,
tell me, and I shall know; for there is no one beside thee to do the office of
a kinsman, and I am after thee: and he said, I am
here, I will redeem it.
5 And Booz said, In the day of thy
buying the field of the hand of Noemin and of Ruth the Moabitess the wife of
the deceased, thou must also buy her, so as to raise up the name of the dead
upon his inheritance. 6 And the
kinsman said, I shall not be able to redeem it for myself, lest I mar my own
inheritance; do thou redeem my right for thyself, for I shall not be able to
redeem it.
7 And this
was in former time the ordinance in Israel for
redemption, and for a bargain, to confirm every word: A man loosed his shoe,
and gave it to his neighbour that redeemed his right; and this was a testimony
in Israel. 8 And the kinsman said to
Booz, Buy my right for thyself: and he took off his shoe and gave it to him.
9 And Booz said to the elders and to
all the people, Ye are this day witnesses, that I
have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that belonged to Chelaion and
Maalon, of the hand of Noemin.
10 Moreover I have bought for myself
for a wife Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Maalon, to raise up the name of the
dead upon his inheritance; so the name of the dead shall not be destroyed from
among his brethren, and from the tribe of his people: ye
are this day witnesses.
11 And all the people who were in the
gate said, We are witnesses: and the elders said, The
Lord make thy wife who goes into thy house, as Rachel and as Lia, who both
together built the house of Israel, and wrought
mightily in Ephratha, and there shall be a name
to thee in Bethleem.
12 And let thy house be as the house
of Phares, whom Thamar bore to Juda, of the seed which the Lord shall give
thee of this handmaid.
13 And Booz took Ruth, and she became
his wife, and he went in to her; and the Lord gave her conception, and she
bore a son. 14 And the women said to
Noemin, Blessed is the Lord, who has not suffered a
redeemer to fail thee this day, even to make thy name famous in Israel.
15 And he shall be to thee a restorer
of thy soul, and one to cherish thy old age; for thy daughter-in-law which has
loved thee, who is better to thee than seven sons, has born him.
16 And Noemin took the child and laid
it in her bosom, and became a nurse to it.
17 And the neighbours gave it a name,
saying, A son has been born to Noemin; and they called his name Obed; this
is the father of Jessæ the father of David.
18 And these
are the generations of Phares: Phares begot Esrom:
19 Esrom begot Aram; and Aram begot
Aminadab. 20 And Aminadab begot
Naasson; and Naasson begot Salmon.
21 And Salmon begot Booz; and Booz
begot Obed. 22 And Obed begot Jessæ;
and Jessæ begot David.